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Road to Eugene ’08
Meet Preview -
by Dave Devine
Call it an early arrival. Or a dress rehearsal, two years
out.
For some time now, American track and field fans have known that
in the summer of 2008, the road to Beijing will run through Eugene,
Oregon. But for a select group of prep stars on the U.S.
Junior National team, the same is true in the summer of 2006. They’ll
train and compete at the University of Oregon’s Hayward
Field before heading to the World Junior Championships in Beijing,
China August 15-20.
Scattered among the Olympic and World champions scheduled to
appear in a slate of special events at the Road to Eugene ’08
Meet are a handful of current and recent high school
athletes hoping to establish themselves as the stars of tomorrow. While
the meet features several “Junior-only” sections,
in many events the preps will be lining up side-by-side against
the United States’ finest post-collegiate competitors.
Here’s a run-down on some of the more intriguing match-ups:
Men
AJ Acosta has been here before. On a
cool night in early May, he ran an open 1500 at Hayward Field
and recorded his current PR of 3:45.73. He finished second
in that race against open and collegiate runners, and has been
stellar in almost every competition since, but he’ll have
his hands full in this one. In addition to fellow-Junior
team member Andrew Bumbalough, who pushed the recent El Camino
grad to the wire in a harrowing 1500 at the US Junior nationals,
the field will include American standouts Anthony Famiglietti,
Said Ahmed, Jason Lunn, Jonathon Riley, Gabe Jennings, and Matt
Tegenkamp (hot on the heels of his blistering 13:04.90 5000m
breakthrough).
Scott Roth and Phil Hansen have
been scaling the heights all season in the pole vault, but
Tuesday night they’ll find themselves on the runway with
one of the finest pole vault line-ups ever assembled on US
soil. 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack, 2004 Olympic
silver medalist Toby Stevenson, 2006 World Indoor champion
Brad Walker, 2006 national champion Russ Buller, 2000 Olympic
gold medalist Nick Hysong, and four-time NCAA champion Tommy
Skipper are all scheduled to vault in the Road to Eugene ’08
Meet.
For the last two years, St. Anthony’s NY rising senior Walter
Henning has been a man among boys in the high school
hammer throw. Outdistancing his nearest competitor on
the yearly list by over 25 feet, Henning has crept tantalizingly
close to the national high school record of 253’03”. On
Tuesday night he’ll have a chance to throw against the
holder of that record, 2006 US Nationals runner-up Jacob Freeman. Also
in the field will be 2006 US National champion and 2004 Olympian
AG Kruger, 2006 Nationals 4th-placer Kibwe Johnson, and 8th-placer
Lucais MacKay.
The special Juniors-only section of the 300 meters will feature
a fascinating collision of sprint and middle-distance high school
stars. Without a Men’s 800m on the schedule, US #1
(New Bern NC grad; 1:49.97) Karjuan Williams is
stepping down to test his speed against the # 1, 2, and 3 quarter
milers in the country. Established sprint stars Calvin
Smith (Freedom, FL grad; 46.17), Bryshon Nellums (Long
Beach Poly, CA rising senior; 46.20), and Jacob Scheurman (Littleton,
CO grad; 46.24) will all compete against Williams at the infrequently-contested
outdoor distance of 300 meters.
Women
Prior to the US Junior National meet, Ridgeland, MS junior Bianca
Knight had been the premier high school girl at 200
meters in 2006, leading the national lists and earning a Gatorade
Athlete of the Year award for her accomplishments. At
Junior Nationals Knight blasted a PR of 22.94, only to come
up short against surging superstar Gabrielle Mayo (Southeast,
NC). Here, Mayo will be racing in a Juniors-only section
of the 100 meters, leaving Knight to face a daunting 200 meter
field that features US sprint stars Me'Lisa Barber, Monique
Henderson, Monique Hennagan and La Shauntea Moore.
Not yet a senior in high school, Patience Coleman (Southern
Durham, NC) recorded the three best marks in the girl’s
high jump for 2006, topping out at 6 feet even. On Tuesday
night she’ll share the apron with five-time US Outdoor
champion and 3-time Olympian Amy Acuff, in addition to US champion
heptathlete Hyleas Fountain and a host of other strong jumpers.
The girls 100 meter hurdles has been a see-saw battle all season
with Evanston Township, IL senior Shalina Clarke leading
the list before April Williams (Dallas Skyline, TX) went on her
summer tear. Clarke was third in the windy USATF Junior
Olympics final in which Williams dropped a devastating 13.07,
but she won’t have Williams to compete against here. Instead,
she’ll be curling into the blocks alongside defending Olympic
champion Joanna Hayes and defending World Champion Michelle Perry,
among others.
Four-hundred meter hurdler Ebony Collins (Long
Beach Wilson, CA rising senior) has been making quite a splash
this summer. First came a 58.31 2nd (to former West Catholic
and current UCLA star Nicole Leach, 55.63) at the US Junior Nationals,
then a torrid 400/400mH double win at the USATF Junior Olympics
(52.33 and 57.78). Here, Collins—a 55.96 performer
in 2005—will contend not only with Leach, but 2005 World
bronze medalist and four-time U.S. champion Sandra Glover and
2006 National runner-up and 2004 Olympian Sheena Johnson.
The final race of the meet is listed vaguely on the schedule
as “The Road to Eugene Distance Race”—with
no start list provided—but it turns out the capping event
of the night is a special 2000m race pitting the US Junior Steeple
champ and runner-up against the Junior 1500m winner and second-placer. Marie
Lawrence (Reno, NV rising senior) has already established
her chops when covering 2000 meters with barriers in the way
(6:35.63 2k national record), but her endurance will be tested
against the speed and kick of 1500m champ and fellow senior-to-be Danielle
Tauro (Manahawkin, NJ). A win
by one of the high schoolers is in no way guaranteed, as they’ll
be pushed to the wire by BYU steepler Amy Fowler and Baylor distance
ace Erin Bedell. |